Ch.113Nudge

The Ryu Jaerin Stalker Incident.

An incident that shocked the entire country at the end of 2013,

which became the reason Jaerin focused on overseas activities,

and developed panic disorder, making her reluctant to appear in public.

‘Since it was well-known that Jaerin attended Daejong High School, it must have been easy to stalk her.’

What could be easier than following a student?

That’s why the perpetrator deliberately targeted days when Jaerin had no schedule.

‘I’m starting to remember everything.’

When Jaerin happened to enter an empty alley,

the stalker suddenly appeared, blocking her path.

‘And it was near Christmas Day, of all times.’

To think such a thing would happen when everyone should be laughing and celebrating.

‘Targeting an idol who had finished activities and was resting.’

You could say he was an extremely despicable person.

And the biggest problem was in the last part of the future message.

-[The perpetrator wasn’t caught because he jumped over walls and exploited CCTV blind spots]

-[Also, unfortunately, the street lamp in the alley was out at that time, so no one even saw the stalker…]

2013 was still a time when there were many CCTV blind spots in South Korea.

It was a period when budget issues and privacy concerns were being debated.

‘So even if people nearby noticed him, he quickly escaped.’

It takes just a moment for someone to disappear through residential areas and alleys.

That was actually the biggest problem.

The stalker didn’t manage to harm Jaerin,

‘More precisely, he tried to harm her, but Jaerin fought back fiercely.’

But he wasn’t caught?

The anxiety could only grow worse.

And that would be a shackle that would continue to torment Jaerin endlessly.

‘I need to make sure that doesn’t happen.’

With that thought, I calmly checked the items I had purchased.

Black gloves, black mask, black hoodie, and even a black hat.

A perfect match for the criminal outfit from Detective Conan.

‘Though I’m not wearing a bodysuit.’

Anyway,

preparations were complete.

I had one goal.

‘To prevent Jaerin from even encountering the stalker.’

For that, I needed to move stealthily.

++++++

Bloombell’s debut song had a concept of becoming your bride,

a song that warmed the hearts of many people.

But a very small number of individuals had a completely different interpretation:

‘She’s, she’s MY bride!’

Song Byeonggu was one such person.

Once a promising athlete,

he fell into a downward spiral after forgetting his duties due to alcohol and gambling.

Living a life where he did nothing all day,

just watching TV and drinking.

The music broadcast of Bloombell that he happened to see instilled a wrong delusion in Song Byeonggu.

That’s when the stalking began.

It was still a time when celebrities’ privacy wasn’t thoroughly protected,

addresses of celebrities could be found on the internet,

and random assaults were spreading like a trend.

Song Byeonggu continued to follow Ryu Jaerin.

On a day close to Christmas.

Just as if by chance, Ryu Jaerin entered a dark alley.

‘Br, bride….’

Muttering incomprehensible words, he followed her.

Bump.

He collided with someone.

“Wh-what?”

Even though it was a narrow alley, it was wide enough for about five people to walk in a line.

To bump into someone there? It had to be intentional.

“Who, who are you?”

Height just over 180 cm,

build definitely threatening.

Even from the slight collision, he could tell the body was solid.

Regardless,

the man who bumped into Song Byeonggu silently took out his phone.

Tap, tap tap.

Very familiar operation.

After comparing the photo on the phone with Song Byeonggu.

Nod.

He silently nodded.

That composure drove Song Byeonggu crazy.

“Get out of my way!”

Feeling like this might be his only chance to speak,

needing to quickly meet her and do something,

he kept blocking the path whenever this strange man tried to pass by.

“Hey, who are you?!”

Song Byeonggu tried to push the man roughly, but.

Thud!

Like pushing against a solid wall, the man didn’t budge at all.

Only then did Song Byeonggu properly observe the man’s appearance.

‘What kind of body…’

The gaze that had been fixed on Ryu Jaerin disappeared like a fantasy,

crashing back to reality.

The man was all black.

As if determined not to reflect any light,

only the old street lamp above dimly illuminated him.

“Hey, what’s your problem? Are you looking for trouble? Do you know who I am?”

No matter how long it had been since he quit sports, an athlete is still an athlete.

Experience doesn’t disappear,

and that experience, no matter how faded, still functioned meaningfully.

So Song Byeonggu didn’t hold back from the confrontation,

and just as he was getting into position to vent his anger after a long time.

Click.

Like a lie, the street lamp went out.

The alley that had been relying on a single light.

When the light disappeared, darkness instantly took over.

Flustered, Song Byeonggu took out the knife he had prepared for emergencies from his pocket.

“Say something, you bastard!”

The terror of being silently looked down upon.

Just as Song Byeonggu pointed the knife as if to kill immediately.

“Huh?”

In an instant, Song Byeonggu’s field of vision changed.

His view suddenly lowered,

‘Did he push my head down?’

While thinking that.

Crack.

Instantly, the wrist holding the knife twisted.

“Kuhk…!”

Just as he was about to scream from the overwhelming pain.

A wad of cloth was stuffed into his mouth.

Clang.

The sound of the knife falling to the ground,

and simultaneously, the sound of ribs breaking echoed inside his body.

It wasn’t broken with any special tool.

Just a fist.

A fist precisely hitting the solar plexus, restricting breathing,

preventing him from opening his eyes properly.

He tried to retch, but even that was stopped by the cloth in his mouth.

Despite it clearly being his own body,

the terror of not being able to do anything.

The fear of possibly dying.

All these mixed together, making his knees weak,

forcing him to kneel down.

Even if he wanted to beg for his life, he couldn’t.

All he could do was cry and pray for this moment to end.

‘Hmm?’

Was that prayer answered?

‘…He’s not hitting me anymore?’

There were no additional strikes.

In fact, apart from the punch to the solar plexus, there had been no other hits.

Lowering the head, twisting the arm, and one blow to the solar plexus.

With just these three moves, he was completely subdued.

When Song Byeonggu raised his head again.

<Don’t touch her>

A short and concise message appeared.

Even a fool would understand what not to touch.

But.

‘What a fool.’

Song Byeonggu smiled.

While writing the message, the man had released his arm,

so his body was now free.

‘How dare you!’

Just as Song Byeonggu grabbed the knife with his uninjured wrist.

Click.

As if on cue, the street lamp turned back on.

His vision flickered due to the sudden brightness.

And simultaneously.

“Kyaaaah!”

People behind him screamed at the sight of Song Byeonggu holding a knife.

He had clearly become a knife-wielding assailant in the situation.

‘Damn it!’

Song Byeonggu desperately tried to flee, but.

Thwack!

The man blocked his path again.

With a perfect joint strike, hitting the front of his shoe directly into the center of Song Byeonggu’s shin, causing him to collapse.

‘Good.’

The man.

No, Kim Donghu, nodded inwardly and jumped over the wall.

‘Now people will call the police, and it will be over.’

Satisfied with the result, Kim Donghu smiled, turned around, and left the scene.

Far away, Ryu Jaerin turned around at the sound of people screaming.

‘Hmm?’

She didn’t know what happened, but something seemed to have occurred.

‘That person in black clothes looks very familiar.’

Who could it be? The thought crossed her mind briefly.

Ryu Jaerin shrugged and continued on her way.

‘Even if we can’t spend Christmas together.’

She could at least make a cake for him.

Taking the shortcut to the department store,

Ryu Jaerin’s steps were very light.

+++++

The morning after successfully resolving the incident.

『Shocking! Are there still malicious fans… Tragedy nearly occurred on Christmas, who is the hero?』

『Could there be a more perfect takedown? Expert says “High possibility CQC was used”』

『Lenient punishment for stalking crimes, should we still take it lightly?』

I nodded with satisfaction as I saw the articles popping up from various sources.

‘He was definitely caught.’

I had restrained his wrist and one leg to prevent escape,

so even an ex-athlete couldn’t avoid being caught.

‘So is this the first future tragedy I’ve prevented?’

Come to think of it, there were quite a few other incidents.

Things I had forgotten in my previous life because I wasn’t involved,

but now related to people who are precious to me.

It was clear they could be prevented if addressed in advance.

‘The problem is that I don’t remember them clearly.’

Of course, Sims would tell me about all those parts, so I wasn’t worried.

‘And I haven’t forgotten the biggest tragedy.’

The greatest tragedy that will occur in 2015,

I absolutely had to prevent it.

‘About a year left, huh.’

They say even a hedgehog finds its own babies cute.

An incident that denied even that cuteness.

‘The death of my parents.’

As I was reaffirming my determination to never let it happen,

and checking my schedule again.

>(Link to article about hero who caught stalker)

>Donghu, is this you?

>Huh?

>It’s you, right

“?!”

An unexpected KakaoTalk message from Jaerin arrived.

“How did she know!?”

But my surprise was short-lived.

Knock knock knock.

“Donghu, open the door, I brought cake.”

Jaerin had visited.

An ambush possible because we’re neighbors.

‘Wh-what’s going on?!’

I genuinely felt like my heart was going to drop.